Jobboard Finder’s opinion
Summary: Created in 1996, Blocket.se (which means “block”) quickly became a hit and started to sell products all over Sweden. In 2001, the adverts went from being free to chargeable and since 2003, Schibsted has been the proud owner of one of the most popular websites in Sweden (ranked 5th for its activity in the country). It provides a large range of classifieds for its 4.5 million weekly visitors, which is why it’s no surprise that 7 out of 10 Swedes have bought or sold something on Blocket. And even if most of the activity is in Sweden, it attracts attention from all over Europe. However, unlike some classified job boards, Blocket doesn’t just offer a “job listings” section; it puts on a suit and goes blue to prove that it means business.
Design: The jobbs.blocket has a white “b” in a blue box logo, not to be confused with the red one used for the other services. The layout makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for: job offers categorized by your field (with the number of available jobs in each one) or by your location, information about companies and new job openings and finally, a big emphasis on recruiting with them. As for the display of the job offers, it includes 1 or 2 photos; and for those who don’t have a backdrop photo, Blocket.se includes an appealing blue, black and white pattern. Oh, and pop-ups don’t clutter the screen.
The job board objective: To make all over job boards jealous because they aren’t Blocket? Seriously though, Blocket wants to have a positive effect on the society and the environment by helping people make smarter, more environmentally friendly decisions.
Recruiter observations: The layout really speaks to the recruiter. There is an emphasis on encouraging companies to advertise with them. With 200 000 people visiting the job section every week, Blocket guarantees visibility. That said, you can also boost your visibility with various advert packages. All the information in very clear (they have even compared their own advert packages): 10% more applications with the “large” package than the “basic” one, 50% more with the recommended package and then there are 2 different premium offers. Job offers can even be shared on partner websites (which definitely means something coming from a big group like Schibsted). The PDF information about each package can’t be translated by google directly but the costs are pretty explicit. They help you every step of the way with questions to improve the job description. They also indicate what’s left to do before posting an offer (the job > the company > the preview > the package deal > ready!). You can write your job offers in English, Swedish, Danish or Norwegian.
Jobseeker observations: The job offers are listed in the middle of the page with boxes to tick to filter them. When you tick a box (in the category, region or type of job section), the page is updated straight away. Furthermore, you can have the jobs appear in order of the most recent or even the soon expired (the time remaining goes red if they are expiring soon). The countdown makes it feel like the jobs are on sale (everything must go!), and guarantees old adverts won’t appear once they have been filled. Also, you can set alerts to see jobs in your field the moment they are posted
The job offers: The most popular categories are IT, technology, engineering and sales. The least popular category is the environment and animal one. There are currently over 9 000 job offers on Blocket.
Reactivity: When you ask for help, you get help! And lots of smiley faces. They send the conversation to you in an e-mail so you have a trace of the information. If you accidently close the conversation, don’t worry, they will email you directly.
Special features: mini-surveys (to better understand who uses blocket and how); chat support; personalized alerts; the job countdown; hiding the application e-mail address; GDPR taken seriously (Schibsted updated their confidentiality clauses just before the GDPR. Go Schibsted!); password security for your job offers (in case you want to alter them later); the question fair (keeping its users informed).
Verdict: It’s pretty safe to say we have fallen in love with Blocket. They understand people. An overall friendly (but professional) job board that the Swedes know and trust. When in doubt, see Blocket!
